Hookups on Winter House are expected. Explicit recaps of those hookups, less so -- even for the cast, including the ones involved in said hookups! At least that's the case for newbie Kory Keefer, who was just as shocked as the audience to hear Jessica Stocker's comments about their ski-chalet sexcapades.
"I was not expecting that at all," Kory confesses to ET over video chat, noting he was especially caught off guard by the "in-depth-ness" of Jessica's conversation with housemate Rachel Clark, in which Jessica described her and Kory's first time as "actually mind-blowing," comparing Kory's... size to three of her own fists and making Rachel blush while recalling her orgasms.
"That kind of threw me for a loop," Kory admits. "I was watching that with the audience for the first time and being like, 'Oh wow, she uh... she said everything,' you know? So, that was a surprise, yup -- wasn't expecting that at all."
"She told me that she spoke to Rachel and some people about it, but not in the detail that she did," he notes. "So that was, yeah, I guess a pleasant surprise maybe? But it was definitely a surprise. I told my mom, like, 'There's a couple of parts in the upcoming episode that you probably just need to skip through,' you know? 'Don't ask questions, just skip these two parts...' and, you know, we just won't talk about it."
Kory says he was flattered by Jessica's review of their rendezvous, and teases there "will be some funny [moments] with more... intimacy of Jess and I" to come as season 2 of the Summer House spinoff plays out. While Kory won't say if he and Jess are still an item now (they filmed the show eight months ago), he does own up to having strong feelings for the real estate professional.
"I don't want to give too much away, but we definitely extend it," he shares. "It wasn't just a fling. I like her as a person and, you know I don't-- back in my college days, I used to look just to hook up and I didn't want to go into that. I have an F-boy persona in general; that's not the true version of me. So I didn't want to just be like, 'Hey, just a fun hit it and quit it.' I like Jess more than [for just her] looks, so it definitely extends. ... We experiment, we'll say that."
"It's weird when you live with someone for, like, three weeks straight," he explains. "It goes from like, hey, a hookup to, like, we're on date No. 40 almost, you know? It feels like it, 'cause ... you see someone, meet someone, hookup and then like you wake up next to them like every day, you know, eat breakfast with them and then go out so it like speeds it up really quickly. I think in these houses that's what happens."
"It goes deep quick," he says. "You kinda go from 0 to 100 in in a short, short period, so I guess it wasn't surprising [on that note], but it was in a good way to see how we connect, because we do mesh very well."
Outside of his romance with Jess, Kory's excited for viewers to see more of him beyond the party/F-boy that's been showcased so far in the weeks to come on Winter House.
"There is more to me," he says, "and with Jess and I, how we grow together, hopefully they show a lot of that, 'cause I know what happened in real life and that we we were growing together as persons, so I'm excited to see that and see kinda that transformation. Also, [viewers can] laugh at me falling. I fall a lot and I break a lot of things in the next coming episodes, whether it's on skates or snowboard. You're gonna see a lot of that, so please laugh at my pain."
Kory also hopes viewers get a chance to see Craig Conover's growth, too. This season started off on a not-so-great note for the Southern Charm star, whose alcohol-fueled antics caused tension within the group and drove his girlfriend, Paige DeSorbo, to tears. At her near-breaking point, she confessed to co-star Amanda Batula she wanted to go home due to the stress of being around Craig in a party atmosphere non-stop.
"That's not the true version of him," Kory, Craig's college roommate, says. "I know Craig and I know he's like a super good guy and that's not how he totally is. Everyone has parts of themselves that, when highlighted, are not the best and I think that's kind of what's happening these first couple of episodes."
"You're going to see Craig kind of grow and mature from it," he continues, "I really hope they show that, 'cause he did [grow] as a person. You know, people sometimes have to get kind of looked at and be like, 'S**t, I need to change my actions...'"
Craig went at it with Luke Gulbranson after Luke failed to pick up on signs from Jessica that she wasn't interested in his advances. The two almost got into a physical altercation after Craig called out Luke for petting Paige's hair. The situation got so tense that Luke left the house for a day; around that time, a gossip blog posted a tip claiming Luke had been kicked out of the house, alluding to his uncomfortable advances toward Jessica. On a recent Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen appearance, Luke suggested Craig might've been behind the leak. Kory doesn't buy that, though.
"Craig, he tells me pretty much everything," Kory notes. "We were trying to figure out who [leaked the story], and I don't see why Craig wouldn't have told me during that point, because he's told me a lot of secrets in the past and, you know, at that point I barely knew [Luke], I had no allegiance to Luke at that point, so I don't see why he would have kept it from me."
"If he did, I think he would have done it a little bit more extreme," he goes on to say, "'cause Craig sometimes goes all in, so I think it would have been a little bit more, like, lavish."
Craig and Kory have known each other for more than a decade at this point; Kory was originally considered for a role on Southern Charm.
"Craig and I got casted for the pilot of Southern Charm years ago, we lived together for a couple years out in Charleston and, yeah, it just wasn't right for me," he shares, "which was in the grand scheme of things, amazing. I was able to start my gym businesses and kind of really build those up, and I think [now] was a good time [to do reality TV], because I have been at a point where like, you're growing as a brand and it allows me to diversify what I'm doing, and I'm expanding it and putting more eyes onto what I'm doing."
And there's a chance there's more Kory to come on Bravo... maybe in the Hamptons?
"I can't really tell too much, but I won't be disappearing anytime soon," he promises. "You'll see me in the Bravo-sphere for sure in the coming year, hopefully even more. But, you know, I'm loving this experience so far. It's awesome. I'm kind of going there with open arms, you know? I might as well, right?"
Winter House airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.
RELATED CONTENT:
